So get this.

I’m here at the podiatrist office of Dr. Catalano to get my broken toe checked out, and it turns out my primary care physician’s office forgot to send a referral… As a result the podiatrist won’t see me because I would not be covered by insurance without the referral.

Healing broken toe

I sit in their office a few hours calling Mount Sinai’s scheduling office to book an appointment elsewhere as Dr. Catalano is unable to see me until 1/2, another two weeks later. Waiting till then would mean that 3 weeks would pass since breaking my toe without any check as to whether my toe is healing properly. Dr. Catalano’s assistant is kind and apologetic that she cannot see me recommends that I see that I visit another podiatrist within the week or else my toe may heal incorrectly.

These things happen. I make mistakes too, but it just feels a greater negligence when one is putting another’s health at risk but their mistake. However, I remain calm and thank the scheduling office when they follow up and report that they cannot get me another podiatrist appt until 12/29. No crying over spilt milk.

Courtesy of http://photosaws.sparkpeople.com/

As I got leave, I head to the elevator and find an “Out of Order” sign.

I figure I’m out of luck and head to the stairs to try to go down them on my crutches. I don’t go more than a foot before I lose my balance and stumble down the stairs, trying very hard not to land on my foot with the injured toe, but of course I do, and it hurts, and I’ve put pressure on my recovering broken bone. Not good. Fortunately I yelped as I fell – not too loud as I don’t tend to the dramatic – but loud enough that a security guard that was visiting the staff on that floor hears me and runs into the stairwell.

So now… I’m finally being seen by one of the doctors

They had to rescue me from the stairwell where I could not move up or down on my own.

No idea if my insurance will cover it because the referral from my primary care physicians still isn’t here.

FML.

“It’s a bit embarrassing falling down stairs on crutches!”

Update

After waiting in an examination room and hearing them chatter in the hallway about the best route to take, a physician’s assistant comes in to ask whether I rather see an orthopedist or Dr. Catalano. I choose Dr. Catalano, as it’s more likely my insurance will cover an appointment with her and I’d like to stick with the doctor my PCP thought it was best for me to see. It’s a bit of a wait as I imagine she is seeing other patients on a busy day. Her physician’s assistant takes my vitals and then has me removes my boot.

I’m a bit in shock, so I’m not feeling too much pain.

I try to swallow my nerves and staunch my tears. It’s a bit embarrassing falling down stairs on crutches! I text Sandy and Phil as I wait, trying to preoccupy myself, so I don’t cover myself in my woes.

After a 30 minute wait, Dr. Catalano examines my toe.

She looks at my Urgent Care X-rays from the week before and reports that she would like to skip X Rays as she does not want to radiate me anymore than what is needed. I accept her advice and she feels around my toe to see what touches cause me pain. The bruising extends from my big toe to a large swatch of skin below it. She explains that there is a muscle that is runs from my big toe up my foot, and the damage of course has shattered the bone, but also damaged that muscle – hence, all the bruising and pain.

The distal phalanx (toe bone) in my big toe has shattered both horizontally and vertically into 4 pieces!

My distal bone has shattered across two places.

So it’s not just 4 pieces that have to weld themselves back together; it’s 4! She recommends two weeks of bed rest and unfortunately notes that…

The City MD Urgent Care has taught me how to do things incorrectly.

They gave me the wrong boot, one that doesn’t actually support or protect my toe. She also notes that the wrapping one toe to the other as a splint is incorrect and will cause the healing to happen incorrectly. They also did not explain the break in my toe correctly to me. It’s a bit disturbing, but I’m not mad at City MD. They’ve helped me from almost dying in the past year.

Remember that time I got bit by a dog and an infection began to streak its way to my heart to kill me?

After all that it is evening and rather than head home (remember I’m a nomad? I don’t have one) or head to the office because I’ve been told by my husband that his partner does not want me there with my broken foot unless I dress up, I head to Starbucks.

That is the end of the night, until I get a nose bleed.

Nose bleed related to crying?

My husband think it is related to all the crying I’ve done that day. I’m too tired to figure out why and so I go to bed ready to put this day behind me and start anew.

We are Jen and Sandy, professional nomads in New York City. We live off the urban land and document our findings along the way. We pay no rent, no utilities, and live sustainably off $100/week. Read more about us here.